Isiah Thomas Jersey

TEHRAN Robert Parish Jersey , Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran denied a U.S. Navy report that an Iranian drone flew close to a U.S. aircraft carrier in international waters in the Persian Gulf, local media reported Tuesday.

The missions of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) patrolling drones are carried out within the territorial waters of the Islamic republic in the Persian Gulf, the IRGC said in a statement.

On Monday, a spokesman for the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said an Iranian drone came within 300 meters of the USS Nimitz which was in international waters in the Persian Gulf.

A drone "conducted an unsafe and unprofessional approach" as it passed by the USS Nimitz without navigation lights, said Spokesman Lieut. Ian McConnaughey was quoted by western media as saying.

Controllers for the drone did not respond to radio requests for communications, he said.

The Iranian statement Reggie Lewis Jersey , however, said the IRGC drones, equipped with the naval standards, are controlled and guided precisely and professionally.

The U.S. Navy and the IRGC have so far had several encounters in the Persian Gulf, but nothing serious has followed.

On July 25, a U.S. navy official said the USS Thunderbolt fired warning shots at an Iranian patrol boat in the Persian Gulf Red Auerbach Jersey , as it came within 150 yards (about 137 meters) in the northern end of the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian vessel did not respond to any warnings from the U.S. ship, including radio calls, firing of flares and five short blasts from the U.S. ship's whistle, the U.S. official said.

However, the IRGC dismissed the "allegations," saying the U.S. navy ship moved toward an Iranian patrolling boat in the northern part of the Persian Gulf and fired two warning shots in "a provocative and intimidating action."

Under the chilly drizzle, and with less than one hundred fans in the 60,000-capacity stadium, Chinese strikers Ma Xiaoxu and Li Ying both wasted a one-to-one chance in the area and the whole team was seemed in a running - in period, lacking in fluency in short passes and ball possession.

""To be honest Marcus Smart Jersey , I feel a little disappointed with the players' performances in techniques today,"" said the Frenchman and Chinese head coach Bruno Bini.

""We easily lost too many balls and had some mistakes in simple passes,"" added Bini, who has a glorious career by steering the French team to a fourth finish at the 2011 World Cup as well as the London Olympic Games.

After the draw in this opening match, China, 17th place in FIFA rankings Marcus Morris Jersey , will meet the regional competitors Vietnam and South Korea, who are also opponents of the Chinese team in the Olympic qualifications to be staged on Feb.29.

""However, I'm not worried a lot about the problem so far,"" said Bini. He replaced Hao Wei after the 2015 World Cup to become the 15th head coach of the Chinese women's side and third foreigner for that job.

""As I said before the match, our aim is to reach the best form in the late February bot not in this match. We are still in a period of preparation,"" he added.

The tournament in Shenzhen is the last one for the Chinese team to play before the Olympic battle. They will set up a three-week training camp in France later this month and then fly to Japan for the six-team Olympic qualifications including the other three powerhouses of Japan Larry Bird Jersey , Australia and DPR Korea. Two of them with highest points after five matches will go to Rio 2016.

China reached its first quarterfinal of the World Cup in eight years in Canada last June, but was still reckoned underdog in Asia's qualifications for Rio 2016.

With about one month to go before Olympics qualifications slated from Feb.29 to March.9, the Frenchman foresaw an uphill battle in vying for the two tickets on offer against World Cup runners-up Japan and world No. 9 Australia.

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by Huang Haimin, Uditha Jayasinghe

COLOMBO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Political party crossovers, election law violations and an intense debate over Sri Lanka's economic future are the main ingredients that spice up the island' s presidential election scheduled for early January next year.

Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa signed on Nov. 20 the proclamation Kyrie Irving Jersey , calling for presidential election where he is seeking a third term though he still has two more years to complete his current term.

The decision has split the ruling coalition, with the nationalist party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), leaving the president's party and forming a coalition with the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumarathunga.

Less than 48 hours after the split, the opposition coalition announced that it was fielding Health Minister Maithreepala Sirisena, the secretary general of Rajapaksa's own party Kevin Mchale Jersey , the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), as its candidate for the presidential election.

Suddenly, the presidential race was blown wide open and what was seen as a largely one-man presidential race given Rajapaksa's formidable political machine is now a two-way contest that would determine Sri Lanka's future.

Despite the presence of 15 other presidential candidates, the race is definitely between Rajapaksa and Sirisena.